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Adventures Of Fatherhood

It constantly amazes me how much energy my kids wake up with each morning.

I am a morning person who rarely has little trouble getting out of bed, but I’m usually worthless as far as having a conversation until I get a shower and have some caffeine.

On the other hand, my oldest son, Beckett, does not need any sort of personal wake-up time. Once he rolls out of bed, his mouth is moving and he’s ready to roll. It’s as if as soon he opens his eyes he’s fresh and ready to continue wherever he left off when he closed his eyes.

For example, one morning recently I was downstairs working and everyone was asleep. I heard that familiar pitter patter, signaling Beckett was running out of his room and headed down the stairs.

As soon as he saw me, he followed up my “good morning” with some running commentary about the chocolate milk he had the night before and wondering how French toast would be dipped in it. Then came a line of questioning that bounced around on recent topics of interest, from Spiderman (he’s been wearing an outfit and mask around the house for weeks) to Dorothy’s ruby shoes (our street has adopted a movie theme for Halloween and we are the the Wizard of Oz) to Diego’s hair (obviously from the show, but not sure why that continues to surface) to Mama Llama’s hair color (the book he and Pam read before going to the bed the night before).

It was all too much for me to keep up with, so I steered the conversation quickly toward breakfast and encouraging him to trust me that French toast dipped in chocolate milk will be disappointing. He didn’t believe me until he tried it. His face immediately confirmed regret.

A couple mornings later, as if contrived while he was sleeping, Beckett came downstairs sporting his negotiating hat. After confirming it was Monday, he began with a “how about this?” That’s when we always know he’s about to veer into some sort of bargaining conversation.

After school, he wanted to go back to Trimper’s and ride “The Whip” 10 more times, “maybe 12 times if I listen good,” he said. That was fresh on his mind because the day before Pam and him went to a birthday party there and apparently he overindulged on that particular ride the most. A return visit was not possible I told him and made up a reason that he apparently bought because he dropped it in short order.

When he’s not ready to chat my ear off in the morning, Beckett wants to take a shower.

For about a month now, Beckett has discovered a passion for the shower. He especially enjoys jumping in with me in the morning because in his words, “it’s just so funny to be showering when it’s still dark out.”

Somehow, he always knows when I am in the shower, no matter how early in the morning. It’s quite odd actually because his bedroom is located on the opposite end of the house and I don’t believe it wakes him up. I think it’s the burning desire to not miss anything that gives him a strange sense that a shower is taking place.

Most mornings he joins me mid-shower because he is scared of the razor. He routinely barges in the bathroom, asking, “are you done?” What he wants to know is if I have shaven yet. If so, he wants in. If not, he will wait patiently, or as close to patient as a 4-year-old can be, asking once or twice a minute until the answer is yes.

One morning he was having trouble getting his pajamas off and ran out of the bathroom. He came back commando, but I later learned he went into our bedroom, flipped on all the lights and demanded, in pure 4-year-old fashion, for his mommy to give him a hand with his shirt. She, of course, was still asleep. Although she understandably didn’t embrace that, Pam did remark later how at least he turned the light back off when he left. It was before 6 a.m.

In the shower, his favorite antics are to the let water “tickle his tongue” and to sit “Indian style” on the shower floor with me. It’s quite a funny scene and a funny way to start the day. He surprised me the other day by saying the “Lord’s Prayer” while we sat in the shower. That was a wonderful start to my day. There was nowhere to go but down from there.

Not to be left out, of course, is Carson, who also wakes up with an unbelievable amount of energy. The big difference is he stays in his room and does not venture around the house by himself.

No matter, he still is on the go from the start, just to a lesser degree on the talking part.

Rather than stammering constantly as soon as he opens his eyes, he’s more of a physical threat, often hopping around his room or relocating furniture that he thinks is out of place.

Carson’s favorite morning activity of late is to let the dogs out. He can’t open the door by himself so he needs some help, but as soon as gets down the stairs he rushes over to the dogs and immediately motions for them to follow him to the door.

The only unfortunate aspect is he wants to run out in the backyard with them and has been known to throw a tantrum when not allowed.

With that taking place and Beckett rapidly firing questions and comments, I quickly realize I too am right where we left off at bedtime the night before.